Non-Bank Financial Institutions

Nonbank financial institutions (NBFIs) vary from country to country by types of providers, options for using the services, and presence in the market. In some countries, they may resemble traditional banks in all but name; in others, they may be niche institutions that provide financial services specific to key demographic groups, such as the agricultural sector. In most markets, microfinance institutions (MFIs) serve as one type of NBFI. Post office banks, cooperatives, and savings and credit cooperative organizations (SACCOs) are also common forms of NBFIs operating in the FII program countries. NBFIs often serve similar numbers of women and men, making them an especially important component to inclusion. In many of the FII countries, women are at least as likely as men to have access to NBFIs, while being much less likely to have access to a bank.

Use of Non-Bank Financial Institutions

REGISTERED ACCOUNT HOLDERS
More women have registered NBFI accounts than men in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Tanzania.

Registered Account Holders by Gender

9% of Bangladeshi adults are active users of a NBFI account.

The Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NBFI) Indicator

Institutions Included in the Indicator by Country

True or false

In Asia, non-bank financial institutions are often more likely to serve rural or poor populations than banks are.

True (NBFIs continue to focus on serving disadvantaged populations)

Which FII country has the highest percentage of adults using nonbank financial institutions?

A. Kenya
B. Bangladesh
C. India
D. Nigeria
A. Kenya (13%)

True or false

Financial inclusion in Pakistan is primarily through nonbank financial institutions (NBFIs).

False (it is primarily through banks, 78% financially included adults has a bank account)

True or false

Bangladesh is often associated with the rise of microfinance.

True (Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunnus founded the Grameen Bank in the 1980s to provide credit to the rural poor)

True or false

Many institutions falling under the NBFI umbrella are primarily credit-only institutions.

True and False (the FII program only includes individuals with accounts at institutions that offer credit services and at least one of the following: savings, insurance, money transfer, or investments)

Which FII country has the lowest percentage of adults actively using non-bank financial institution accounts?

A. Pakistan
B. Bangladesh
C. Nigeria
D. Kenya
A. Pakistan (1%)